Financial infrastructure provider Lean Technologies and UAE-based fintech Ziina have introduced the UAE’s first one-tap Pay by Bank experience. The feature, operating under the country’s Open Finance framework, allows users to connect their bank account a single time to top up their Ziina wallet with just one tap in the future.
Quick Facts
- UAE’s first one-tap Pay by Bank feature launched.
- Users connect their bank account only once for recurring payments.
- Built on Lean’s Deposits solution for low-friction transactions.
Evolving Account-to-Account Payments
This new capability marks a significant shift for Pay by Bank functionality in the UAE, moving it from one-off instant payments to recurring, low-effort transactions. Built on Lean’s Deposits solution, the feature eliminates the need for users to repeatedly enter their banking credentials or be redirected to their bank’s portal for every transaction, simplifying the process of funding their digital wallet.
Omar Hamada, VP of Sales at Lean, explained the development, stating, “Pay by Bank has been live in the UAE for some time, but until now, it has only been available as single instant payments. Working with Ziina, we’ve shown that the infrastructure is capable of supporting recurring, low-effort payment experiences, the kind that make a payment method genuinely part of how people pay every day. That is the direction the market is heading, and this is the first example of it.”
Streamlining the User Experience
For Ziina, which serves over 260,000 businesses and consumers, the collaboration aims to improve a core function within its app. By reducing the friction involved in topping up wallets, the company enhances the overall user experience, making financial management feel more intuitive.
“People expect financial products to be as simple and intuitive as the best consumer technology they use every day,” said Talal Toukan, Co-Founder and Head of Engineering at Ziina. “Funding your wallet is one of the most common actions within Ziina, so making that experience faster and more seamless was a natural next step for us. Working with Lean, we’ve been able to reduce friction in a way that makes managing and moving money feel more effortless for our users.”
The announcement was made at Lean’s industry event, “Pay by Bank: The Default Way to Pay,” which gathered more than 150 leaders from banking, fintech, and regulatory sectors.
About Lean Technologies
Founded in 2019, Lean Technologies is a financial infrastructure provider in the MENA region. It empowers businesses to access financial data and initiate payments through a single platform. Since its launch, Lean has supported more than 400 companies, processed over $5 billion in transaction volume, connected over 2 million accounts, and completed more than 3 million account verifications.
About Ziina
Founded in 2020 by Faisal Toukan, Sarah Toukan, and Talal Toukan, Ziina is a UAE-licensed fintech platform for consumers and businesses. The platform provides tools for spending, receiving, and managing money, including instant transfers, payment links, and the Ziina Card. Licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE, Ziina operates without initiation fees or hidden charges.
Source: Wamda
